Missoula Man Accused of DUI With Four-Year-Old Child on Lap – ‘He Was Letting her Drive’

On Sunday evening a concerned citizen began following a vehicle through Missoula that was swerving erratically. Apparently, an intoxicated man and a four-year-old child were behind the wheel.

"Just after 7:00 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the report of a traffic hazard, a vehicle traveling and had a hard time maintaining its lane near Kemp and S. 3rd Street West," said Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh. "The officer eventually located the vehicle at a trailer park at the intersection of South 3rd and Russell Street."

When the officer approached the vehicle he found more than just another driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol

"There was a small child in the lap of the adult male driver," Welsh said. "When the officer arrived he made contact with Mr. Jack Stearns, 46-years-old, who is a Missoula resident, and subsequently arrested Mr. Strerns for criminal child endangerment as a result of driving while intoxicated."

According to court documents, the Missoula Police officer noticed a female child standing on the front seat when Stearns was pulled over. When asked about his driving on South Third Street, Stearns told the officer 'he was letting his daughter drive'.

According to Welsh, the child was just four years old, and is now safe.